


What Was Saved and Lost

by abbene



Series: Dream SMP Oneshots [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dream Team SMP Setting (Video Blogging RPF), Anger, Angst, Betrayal, Dream Team SMP Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), President TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Traitor, Traitor TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), clingytwt i'm sorry, schlatt is still dead L dance LMAO, you tell tommy not to do something then he's gonna do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29593074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbene/pseuds/abbene
Summary: “Why, Tommy, what could he have possibly given you that was worth so much more than us? Than L’manberg, than me, Tommy?” Wilbur inquires, a crooked smile making its appearance but it knows nothing but hurt.Tommy isn’t looking at Wilbur the same. There’s a hint of remorse but at the same time, there’s a small grin that peeks just barely from his facial features. “I betrayed you, Wilbur. I betrayed all of you, yes, but I… I didn’t betray L’manberg.”“What the fuck does that even mean, Tommy?” Fundy asks.“Presidency. Dream gave me presidency.”---In another universe, Tommy would do the unthinkable, become what everyone thought he wouldn't: a traitor and L'manberg's President.
Relationships: Tubbo & Tommyinnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: Dream SMP Oneshots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181081
Comments: 4
Kudos: 102





	What Was Saved and Lost

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally posted on my twitter on 11/22/20 and written sometime before then but i wanted to bring it here! enjoy!

“Did Schlatt just have a heart attack?” Tubbo asked, the ex-president’s body lying disturbingly still on whatever remained of the floor of the Camaravan. Surrounded by empty bottles, some cracked or completely shattered, he reeked of alcohol, fading hope, and well...death. 

But to the rest of them, that smell was the scent of glory.

“I think he drank himself dead…” Wilbur broke the silence, a laugh of disbelief following soon after. He raised his head to meet the eyes of everyone else in the room—all were in shock. They questioned if it was really over, if Schlatt would instead peel himself off the ground and shove a glass shard against one of their throats, that he’d growl: “Did you think you could get rid of me that easy? Did you think that you could off me, just like that?” And as they looked on for any sign of movement, any sign of life within that dark figure below them, they realized no sign would be coming. Schlatt was gone for good.

“What an idiot,” Dream muttered under his breath.

“Agreed, I mean, he did know we were coming right? Like I wanted a fight, not whatever the hell this was,” Technoblade said. “I was so excited for the revolution but now I’m just...sad.”

“Well, it’s less blood that needs to be shed,” Tommy interjected, hopping down from the higher level he had climbed on. “It’s all over now.”

“Yeah, but is that a  _ go _ —”

“Dream, we’ve got your surrender to discuss.” Techno is cut off by Tommy, as per usual. He swiftly walks past the crowd, glancing at Dream before turning back to look at the rest of them. “Come on, guys, we’ve just won a war!”

_ Rather excited for someone who just stepped over a dead man,  _ Tubbo thinks to himself but then reels his thoughts back in.  _ That’s just Tommy. Nevermind. _

As requested, everyone files out of the van, stepping onto the cracked and aged cobblestone of the plaza. The stage sits in the distance, already the witness to so much excitement, hurt, and conflict. Could it handle another grievous blow? Could it handle what was coming next?

Could  _ they _ handle what was coming next?

“Dream,” Wilbur calls out. The opposer turns his head in response. “This isn’t a trick, is it?”

“Why would it be?”

“Just answer the question.”

“No. It’s not.”

“What makes you think that Dream would let his pride fall so low for him to  _ fake  _ a surrender?” Quackity smirks, adding a smug comment to the conversation.

Dream draws his crossbow. “We can keep going if that’s what you’d like, Quackity.”

“Nonono, I was just  _ kidding,  _ heyyy, put the crossbow down, Dream—” He begins to laugh, voice raising in pitch and palms getting higher in the air. 

Technoblade grips his sword: The Orphan Obliterator. He’s ready, a grin creeping its way onto his face, craving what could be a bloody but satisfying battle. This is the action he wanted, the suspense to fulfill a grand war.

The rest move their hands to their weapons or take a stance behind their shields. After all, Dream whipping out his own offense like that is quite jarring… And yet there Tommy is, in the middle of it all with his arms outstretched, reaching to both his team and allies and to the man who tried to stop them.

“A-alright everyone let’s calm down, Dream surrendered so let’s just talk about this!” Tommy shoots a glare in Quackity’s direction, who is clearly shaken but pretending as if he’s pleased by this outcome. Techno surely isn’t, rolling his eyes and huffing as he sheathes his sword. He’d thought the good bit was just beginning.  _ No fun. _

Once everyone is calmed, Tommy dictates the conversation. “So Dream.” He crosses his arms. “You’re giving up. Handing us the win, handing us L’manberg for us to deal with? You’re not gonna protect it anymore?”

He nods, though there’s a hint of skepticism in that movement. That or knowing. Knowing of something else.

“And you’re going to leave and let us do what we see fit for L’manberg? Agree to our independence, once again?”

“Well, I don’t know about that—”

Tommy steps closer. He leans in, meeting Dream’s eyes with an intense gaze. “You’re going to  _ leave _ .” He emphasizes, his voice cutting hard and slow, searing of the resentment and suffering he’s been carrying for the past few months now. “You’re going to leave  _ L’manberg _ for us.” He steps closer again. It appears he wants Dream to know that he’s lost this war, that by giving up he’s fulfilling the joy of so many around despite his own wishes. “And you agree,” he continues, “that L’manberg remains an independent country in the Dream SMP.”

Dream is silent. Maybe Tommy’s successfully intimidated him or has him pondering things, of which the latter could be quite alarming. He takes deep breaths as if he truly is contemplating. The others are exchanging fretful glances—they know Dream doesn’t exactly give up easy.

“Wait.”

The crease between Niki’s eyebrows deepens as she speaks. Her voice cuts through the suffocating tension like a stab to the stomach. Many would be losing their appetite on this fine evening.

“You said...you said that we ‘might’ have a traitor i-in our ranks, Dream.” She pauses. “Is there one?”

Niki has brought up something that all of them had long since forgotten. It seemed like ages ago they met up to try and weed the scoundrel out but to no avail—and knowing everyone's motives (for the most part), they all came to assume that it had been Dream trying to mess with their heads. The paranoia had diminished just like the fear of getting crushed in this war. Even still, with the idea being reintroduced, people were skeptical of this “traitor” their enemy had warned of.

“I guess there’s no point in being cryptic anymore…” Dream lets out a long sigh, placing a hand on his hip. “I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t trying to ‘get into your heads’ or whatever you want to say. It  _ was _ a warning. They’ve been in front of you this entire time.”

The atmosphere grows still with anxiety. Nobody dares speak and interrupt him this time around, though they fear for what his next words might bring.

A light chuckle emits from the masked person. “But first, let’s make this official.”

Stunned silence. And then, an uproar.

“But first?!” Fundy pipes up, eyes following Dream as he pushes straight through the group and towards the stage ahead. “You’re telling us we still have a fucking snake among us and you want us to wait?!”

“We want to know who it is right now!” Tubbo adds in. “They’ve been hidden in our army long enough!”

“We’ve already won, Dream, there’s no point in continuing to hide them, just tell us!” Quackity scoffs. Dream sharply turns his head back. “We’ll be sure to kick their ass to the End when we find out who they are…”

“If you want to know who it is,” Dream grumbles, “let me go up and sp—”

“Just  _ spill! _ ” Fundy pleads, the entire group agreeing and pitching in with their own words of discontent. They’re tired of waiting, tired of living by Dream’s commands just to have a single chance. Wilbur’s been betrayed, Tubbo executed, Techno used, and Quackity let down. They don’t want to wait another minute to find something else that’ll just tear them apart again.

“You want to know who it is?” Dream begins. “I was gonna announce it with a bit more of a  _ bang _ but fine, whatever, since you all want to know…”

“Whose been leading you this entire time? Who’s the one who still had hope despite every person here leaving them in the dust? Can you answer that for me, hmm? Think about it. Think about it real hard, and it’s not Wilbur, I’ll tell you that, it’s not Wilbur.” Dream laughs once again. “You all trusted him so blindly, oh my god, haha! None of you even thought to consider what he’d have to gain if he simply joined me!”

There’s an eruption of conversation at the slip up of “him” and “he’d”. A second to question and condition themselves for this evening’s glorious climax.

Techno chimes in. He provides the answer.

“Tommy.”

For a moment, time slows. The name replays over and over in their heads like a malfunctioning jukebox.  _ No way, _ they’re thinking.  _ Tommy wouldn’t turn. He’s been against Dream since the beginning. _ To them, it didn’t make sense.  _ Why? What would he have to gain? Who would he be doing it for? _

“Tommy?” Wilbur repeats, though it sounds like he needs more assurance than anything. “T...Tommy?”

Gradually, everyone’s eyes drift to him. He stands at the edge of the group, hanging his head.

“Tell us he’s lying, Tommy.” Niki begs, a painful voice crack happening halfway through. “He’s got to be lying.”

He looks up and meets with all eyes around the plaza one by one. In them isn’t a new Tommy, someone they’ve never met, no—it’s Tommy, alright. The same one that’s always been there, the same one that started the Revolution with Wilbur, the same one who was thrown out of his own home. Sorrowful, to some extent, but tenacious. He knows what he’s done as the person he is now, and that’s the worst part of it.

Quackity’s fist balls up. “I knew it. I fucking knew it.”

“I’m sorry, guys.” Tommy sighs.

“Why?”

The traitor looks at Wilbur. He’s crying. Wilbur’s eyes are shimmering in the setting sun and his waterline is full of that wretched, shattering feeling of losing someone that was so dear to you. No, not even—losing someone who you thought considered you so dear to themself  _ again _ .

“Why, Tommy, what could he have possibly given you that was worth so much more than us? Than L’manberg, than me, Tommy?” Wilbur inquires, a crooked smile making its appearance but it knows nothing but hurt.

Tommy isn’t looking at Wilbur the same. There’s a hint of remorse but at the same time, there’s a small grin that peeks just barely from his facial features. “I betrayed you, Wilbur. I betrayed all of you, yes, but I… I didn’t betray L’manberg.”

“What the fuck does that even mean, Tommy?” Fundy asks.

“Presidency. Dream gave me presidency.”

Everyone is dead silent even after Tommy laughs.

“What was it that you said to me, Wilbur? ‘Tommy, you’ve got to understand when I said you’re never going to be president, that wasn’t a challenge—that was true. You’re never going to be president, Tommy.’” He laughs again, it’s pained and somewhat forced but even still, it happens. “Look at me now, Wilbur! TommyInnit, President of L’manberg! Has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think?”

“So you did this to secure a title? Of a town that’s now likely going to be blown to a million little pieces? You were the last person Wilbur had, you dumbass, why?!” Quackity shouts, taking a daring step towards L’manberg’s new president. Dream is watching this all unfold with a joyous grin, more than glad to see that this is how it’s going.

“I couldn’t care less about the title, Big Q, it didn’t bother me what Wilbur said—he’s mad, out of his mind, he hasn’t got a clue what he’s saying!”

“Do  _ not _ call me Big Q, and do you have a clue what  _ you’re _ saying, what you’ve  _ done _ to us?!”

“I knew Wilbur was close to blowing it up anyway but now that I’m president, I can stop him and save L’manberg for you all, don’t you see?!  _ Finally, _ we can all be safe aga—”

“Do you think you can stop him, Tommy? I mean maybe you could’ve before but now that you’ve completely broken him?! Are you not processing what I said—you were the  _ only _ person he had!”

“Wilbur lost me a long time ago! He lost me when he confessed to wanting to blow it all up, and then going as far as to actually  _ try _ and do it! We made L’manberg together and I would do anything to make sure it stands in  _ all _ it’s glory!”

“Oh, glory! You’re gonna say that as you betray all it’s people to ‘save’ it?”

“Yes, because Tubbo needs it!”

“You—” Quackity stops in his tracks, eyes widening as he processes the sentence Tommy just spoke. A look of confusion crosses his face.

Tubbo doesn’t speak. He can’t, he’s just completely stunned by his best friend. He’s having a hard time comprehending what Tommy has just admitted to. Despite consulting Quackity about it earlier, the idea of Tommy as the traitor, even coming to strongly consider it himself, the agonizing fact that they were right was nearly too much to bear.

“All Tubbo has wanted was peace. He just wants a place to call his own where can  _ live _ . And everyone…  _ Everyone _ keeps taking that from him. I’m not letting it happen  _ any _ longer. Tubbo?” Tommy declares, at the very end seeking his best friend’s attention.

Tubbo’s eyes met his. Those brilliant blue eyes that have shared so many conversations about stupid topics to discussions of war, the eyes that Tubbo looked into every time they sat at their bench, played a music disc in the jukebox, laughed over ridiculous jokes... His best friend’s eyes. Tommy’s eyes.

“Tubbo, join me. As vice president, I won’t let anything happen to you or L’manberg ever again. No one can take it from us, never again. It’s ours to keep, ours to keep in our hearts and as our home.” Tommy says, striding over and placing both his hands atop Tubbo’s shoulders. He’s almost pleading to Tubbo himself—perhaps he notices the conflicted emotions radiating off of his person. The rest of the group is begging for Tubbo to choose right.

“Tommy I-I—everyone here came to fight against Dream and you, after all this time, a-after all of this, you  _ joined _ him?” He’s still in a state of shock, of disbelief, of complete and utter misunderstanding of why.  _ All for me? _ He ponders.  _ He did this for me? I didn’t want this. _ As great as it sounds to him, the concept that’s he’s building himself in his mind, he knows what’s right and he knows what’s wrong… The only issue is that the line that separates the two is blurred beyond recognition.

“L’manberg is our home, Tubbo. I did this for you. I saved it for us. Please.”

Tommy is smiling, it’s anxious and impatient, brimful of desire for the answer he dreamt of from his best friend. He so badly wants him to say yes so that they can move on to making L’manberg better than it ever was before! Side by side, despite anything that attempts to halt them. Tubbo, teary-eyed, looks at him.

“Our L’manberg doesn’t exist anymore, Tommy. You killed it when you decided to make that deal with Dream and leave me with nothing. I have nothing now—not even my best friend.”


End file.
